The Indian diaspora in the UK have left feeling outraged as the British Sikhs demand for a separate ethnic identity for themselves in Census 2021. This came after in the last Census (2011), 83,362 Sikhs ignored the existing tick box column under ethnicity section, and used the 'write in' option to state themselves as Sikhs. The Census already allows people to identify themselves as Sikhs under their optional religion section. But this action has sparked major controversies, including accusations on Sikhs for instigating and supporting Khalistan movement in the UK.
Preet Kaur Gill the Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston and the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs has handed a letter to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), addressed to John Pullinger, the UK National Statistician and Head of the Office for ONS demanding a Sikh ethnic tick box in Census 2021.
The letter was signed by nearly 140 MPs including MPs of Asian origin such as Faisal Rashid, Mohammed Yasin, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Khalid Mahmood, Seema Malhotra, Tulip Sidiq, Virendra Sharma, Keith Vaz and Yasmin Qureshi. The community has been left further distressed, to discover that Asian and non-Sikh MPs have supported the letter to ONS. However the Indian authorities have not issued any official statement so far.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs and adviser to the Sikh Federation UK also met with Iain Bell, the Deputy National Statistician and his team to discuss the demand. The APPG highlighted that in 2011 the Office of National Statistics (ONS) introduced two new ethnic group categories one for ‘Gypsy or Irish Traveller’ and the other ‘Arab’ although the numbers in these two groups were found to be only around 58,000 and 240,000 respectively.
A number of points were put across to the ONS, including the fact that Sikhs are a legally recognised ethnic group that are protected from discrimination under UK law, following the House of Lords ruling in the Mandla v Dowell Lee case in 1983.
Speaking about the letter, Preet Gill in a statement said: “The number of MPs signing the letter could easily have been doubled or even tripled as there is universal support for Sikhs on this issue. We simply stopped adding additional signatures as we were meeting with ONS.
“ONS now know in no uncertain terms that it must recommend to Parliament the inclusion of a separate Sikh ethnic tick box in the Census 2021 or it will be overturned by MPs.
“Simple logic and an understanding on the requirements of the Sikh faith should tell ONS that tens of thousands of Sikhs would not have answered the optional religious question alongside the 20 million who did not answer the question or specified no religion. However, they would have been forced to select an existing ethnic group in the absence of a Sikh ethnic tick box.
“I am shocked ONS came along to MPs and admitted they have done very little work to establish how many Sikhs may not have answered the religious question in 2011. My own personal view is if around 1 in 20 or 1 in 30 of Sikhs who did not specify their religion took the effort to right in Sikh as their ethnic group the number of Sikhs may be underestimated by as much as 200,000.”
ONS confirmed that they have agreed to an urgent meeting and work with the Sikh Federation (UK) and Sikh Network to use alternative methods to establish the extent to which the religious proxy underestimates the total number of Sikhs. The meeting also confirmed stakeholder's consultation in 2016 that showed there was a demand for a Sikh ethnic tick box not only from the Sikh community, but those working in the education, health, local government and business sectors. ONS has therefore promised to take into account the results of the UK Sikh Survey 2016 that was conducted by the Sikh Network. This had over 4,500 Sikh respondents from across the UK and 93.5% stated they wanted a Sikh tick box and 19 out of 20 preferred to be identified as Sikh rather that Indian or Asian. ONS has also revealed that it is undertaking their own research on adding Sikhs and Kashmiris as separate ethnic tick boxes in the 2021 Census, although they believe they are at the moment a long way from any conclusion.
The community itself has been left divided on this subject. Lord Indarjit Singh, the first turbaned Peer in the House of Lords, and Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 17th Asian Achievers Awards. A journalist and broadcaster by profession, who is known for his bold stands, in a statement said, “The Sikh Federation is always looking for a campaigning issue. The latest, is the inclusion of Sikhs as a distinct ethnic group in the next census. Predictably, Federation supporters, like Gurmukh Singh (Sewa UK), cite the Law Lords Ruling in the Mandla Case to justify an assertion that Sikhs are a distinct ethnic group. We are not, and to say we are shows a lack of understanding of the Law Lords’ findings, the meaning of ‘ethnicity’, and worse, ignorance of the teachings of the Sikh Gurus...It is dishonest to say the Law Lords stated Sikhs were an ethnic group per se. The Law Lords, who I met at the time, were a clever lot, but it was not in their gift to alter geography and nature, or the social environment in which a community has its roots. Nor can the much-boasted signatures of 100 MPs make any difference…
“Some Sikhs naively believe that calling ourselves an ethnic group (which we are not) will strengthen the case for Khalistan, an emotionally attractive homeland for Sikhs. Forgetting the political impediments, there are two reasons why talk of Khalistan is nothing more than a campaigning slogan: Absence of a contiguous area, in Punjab where Sikhs will always be in a majority and a religious State, on the lines of Israel or Pakistan, where Sikhs have more rights than those of other faiths, would be totally against the clear teachings of our Gurus.
“Talking of Khalistan is an understandable way of vocalising our anger over the genocide in 1984; it is an excellent rallying call for generating unthinking emotional following and funding by groups like the Sikh Federation, but as a practicable or desirable proposition, it is a complete nonstarter.”
Dr Rami Ranger CBE, Chairman and Founder of Sun Mark Ltd is a well known entrepreneur from the Sikh commuunity. He is also the Chairman of the British Sikh Association. Ranger's father Shaheed Nanak Singh was a freedom fighter, who opposed India-Pakistan partition on the basis of religion and was brutally murdered during the turmoil.
Speaking to Asian Voice Dr Ranger said, “Sikh Gurus gave Sikhs a modern and progressive religion away from manmade barriers which were designed to divide. They promoted the universal brotherhood but to date some of their followers claim that they are greater visionaries and demand not only a separate homeland but also separate ethnicity.
“I am saddened by the demands of my fellow Sikhs who want to be classified as a separate group rather than part of humanity at large. By dividing us yet again, in my opinion it is scoring our own goal. Will they also demand that the teachings of all non Sikhs be removed from our holy scriptures?
“More importantly, everyone in the Indian Sub Continent has a Hindu DNA and by changing religion we cannot change our race. Sikh Gurus and their followers were Hindus and no one can deny this fact. Hindus used to make their elder son Sikh and as a result, many Sikhs have same surnames as that of Hindus. I cannot understand how someone changing religion can automatically change their race!
“Sikh Gurus gave Sikhs a modern philosophy based on interfaith teachings in order to bring mankind closer and this action by a handful of People is shortsighted and designed to draw a wedge. How can we attract others to our faith if we tell them we are of a different race?
“Regarding the support of British MPs, they have always been in favour of dividing people in order to render them weak. India was divided for this same reason. I will urge my fellow Sikhs not to demand something which our Gurus never advocated as it will not bring us closer to the people of our origin and the rest.”
A Sikh community worker, who did not wish to be named, mirrored the same view. e said, “The Jewish community is also considered as a race under British law, they are more than contained by having their faith only being dealt under the religious box (in Census) and not in the ethnic box. The Sikh community to be given special treatment like this is absurd. Moreover these Indian origin MPs signing the letter by Preet Gill, what exactly is their stake in the matter? Have they measured the pros and cons of their actions? Do they realise the consequenses?”
A statement issued by Gurjeet Singh, National Press Secretary, the Sikh Federation of UK said that the Sikh community has a considerable support on this separate ethnic identity issue from law makers in the UK He explained how as a group they voice and lobby for Sikh rights and denied any connection with any terrorist organisations. He added, “If the Sikh Federation UK was simply the successor of International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) that was proscribed in March 2001, the UK Government would have taken a legal action and imposed a ban.”
Seema Malhotra MP who has signed the letter to the ONS told Asian Voice, “This issue is fundamentally about whether the information collected in the Census provides sufficient data for the allocation of resources for public services. Where there are concerns by any community group it is right that this is reviewed and improvements considered.
“Alongside the data collected, the Government must also do much more to raise awareness in all our communities of the need to fill in the census form accurately and completely. It really matters.
“Parliamentarians will regularly use Census data and evidence to call for new policies and challenge the Government if its decisions are shown to be unfair. This is an important debate for the effective provision of public services in Britain."
